I just heard last week for the first time A Different World by Bucky Covington. The lyrics are spectacular.
We were born to mothers who smoked and drank
Our cribs were covered in lead based paint
No child proof lids, no seat belts in cars
Rode bikes with no helmets and still here we are, still here we are
We got daddy's belt when we misbehaved
Had three TV channels you got up to change
No video games and no satellite
All we had were friends and they were outside, playin' outside
It was a different
life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world
School always started the same every day
The pledge of allegiance then someone would pray
Not every kid made the team when they tried
We got disappointed and that was all right, we turned out all right
It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world
No bottled water, we drank from a garden hose
And every Sunday, all the stores were closed
It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world
It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world
It was a different world
Covington doesn't look old enough to remember all this, but I surely do. Heaven knows how we survived in cars that didn't have seat belts (I remember sleeping up in the back window of our 1972 Chevrolet Bel Air that got 13 mpg on the highway). I also remember fondly drinking from the water hose so I wouldn't have to go in the house for fear that my mother might find something for me to do besides playing. ;)
In those days, we would leave the house in the morning and not come home until it was time for dinner that evening (I don't remember what we ate for lunch or if we even did). Our parents never worried about the fact that we were gone for 6 hours and they only had a vague idea of where we were. There were no cell phones so your parents could know your exact location at all times. Your parents might not even know the parents of the kids you were playing tag with. They just assumed that everybody was normal and not some homicidal maniac ready to snatch your child at a convenient moment.
We didn't have indoor play equipment or McDonald's with big playgrounds or hand sanitizer to use after playing. If you wanted to swing, it was in the neighbor's backyard. We had teeter-totters and merry-go-rounds at the local park and nobody sued the city because these weren't perfectly safe.
I marvel sometimes at the electronic gadgets my children play with, and I envy the elaborate playgrounds they've had to play in. But I can't say I think they have more fun than we did. :)
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